With Pakistan's mortgage-to-GDP ratio abysmally low — below 1% — owing to the absence of a proper mortgage system, the federal government intends to launch a new subsidised housing finance scheme in the upcoming fiscal year. The initiative aims to spur demand in the real estate and construction sectors while making homeownership more accessible to middle- and lower-income groups. However, the sche
The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) reversed its upward trajectory on Thursday after two days of gains, as investors opted for profit-taking at elevated levels, dragging the benchmark index into the red. Ali Najib, Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, said the KSE-100 Index had surged nearly 6,594 points, or 5.7pc, in the previous two sessions following the Iran-Israel ceasefire. “Today’s
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday voiced strong reservations over a set of politically unpopular provisions in the federal budget for the next fiscal year, urging the government to amend contentious clauses ahead of its expected approval in the National Assembly today (Thursday). Former finance minister and PPP MNA Naveed Qamar, who currently chairs the National Assembly Standing Co
Global public debt rose to $102 trillion in 2024, with developing countries accounting for nearly one-third — $31tr — of that total, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These economies paid a record $921bn in interest payments, severely straining public finances and threatening essential public services. In its latest World of Debt repor
Pakistan lacks a central mechanism for monitoring energy efficiency in its steel sector, making it difficult to measure progress or tap into global green financing and carbon credit opportunities, according to a new World Bank report. The report, titled Steel Sector: Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation, released under the Pakistan Sustainable Energy Series, highlights several barriers hinder